Yo-Splaz!
Yo-Splaz! was a newsletter written by the Dozerfleet founder from June of 1999 until around August of 2000, intended for a friend/romantic interest of the time named Carly. It is the predecessor to Dolphinformia, and an early attempt to branch out into journalism. History Most bi-weekly issues of the newsletter were written using Microsoft Publisher 2000, and documented various events in the founder's life while waiting for her to respond. Most of the time, she didn't. Responses were often generic, and did more to not say what was going on over on her end than to actually "say" anything. Common features included talking about personal and school projects, documenting political issues of the time, and documenting things family members were up to. Whenever the family dog would do something bizarre, this too was often included in the newsletter. "Dog Eats Tomatoes" or "Dog Eats Cucumbers" were sometimes featured entries. It was, in essence, a series of love letters scantily clad as a semi-professional newsletter. Issues were sent in a custom-designed envelope, and mailed to her house in Holt. It is unknown how many of the issues were actually read, as she began to ignore the letters by late 2000. Cancellation When it was discovered that she was no longer even reading the letters, all publication of them was discontinued. In addition, all letters she had sent were thrown away. Evidence of her apathy was made clear when she could not recall a previous issue documenting the start of Stationery Voyagers as a project. She also showed no sympathy whatsoever for the founder having had to get stitches. And showed no concern over several dozen other things. The founder continued on brokenhearted, but still with a soft spot for her, until meeting Emily in 2001. That relationship was also doomed. Dozens of prospects in college that went nowhere later, the founder soon became a very lonely college graduate in January of 2011. Relief from that came in May, upon meeting a woman from the Philippines who was a little more open to what she was getting into than any of the American/Korean/whatever women met in college were. A window of possible redemption finally opened up. In July of 2011, Carly herself apologized in a Facebook message for her behavior a decade earlier, stating: "There are many things from the past about which I am not proud. And I am happy to say that I am not that girl anymore." Development The newsletter was developed in reaction to the fact that Carly was leaving behind the school that she and the founder were both attending at the time, and cutting off most of her connections with that school. Part of it was a young and rebellious attitude. Part of it was frustration with how the faculty had treated her. And part of it was an inability to cope with her family's instability. The Dozerfleet founder could not, at the time, accept that she was truly gone. She had been his best friend for an entire school year, and was about to evaporate and leave him feeling empty. The newsletter worked for about a year to serve as a bridge to keep the two together, but she grew increasingly interested in new horizons even as the Dozerfleet founder grew increasingly stubborn about proving he could be faithful to her, even in the midst of a student body that was encouraging a "be a player" mentality. It became as much a need to prove a moral point as it was an inability to let go. The need for a newsletter came from a need to appear quasi-professional; exploring what the world of journalism was like while at the same time serving more personal interests. It was also a desire to be different from the usual mode that "everyone else" did. A mold that seemed inefficient and uncreative. Inspiration The name came from two sources. First was the "Yo" part. This was inspired by a joke from an episode of Home Improvement where the boys were fighting over a school paper titled "Hey Yo." The "Splaz" part came from "Splazmeister," one of Carly's nicknames in high school. It was a combination of "spaz" and "lass," the former being a reference to how quickly she'd jump when confronted with certain remarks. The newsletter's title was thus a slang-laden way of saying: "Hey, Carly! Check this out!" See also * Dolphinformia Category: Defunct Dozerfleet divisions Category: Projects from 1999